Margrave’s Bastard Son was The Emperor - Chapter 549

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 548
Fire. Each to Their Duty
KWAAAAAANG!
A deafening roar shook heaven and earth without pause. Despite the bright daylight, the sky darkened from the brilliant flashes of light erupting all around.
As a newly recruited Mage Knight of the Imperial Guards instinctively turned to look back, Barsabe shouted.
“Don’t look behind! Keep your eyes forward!”
“Ah, I-I’m sorry!”
SHHWAAAACK!
SCREEEECH!
Demon blood dripped steadily from the tip of her blade. She cut and cut again, but the endless tide of demons was overwhelming.
How many were there? Thousands? No, tens of thousands? If the rift wasn’t sealed, they might be infinite. Barsabe clenched her lower lip and swung her mana blade.
WHOOOOSH!
Mana channeled through her sword erupted in three streaks, and the demons crumbled to ash and vanished.
But it was only momentary—immediately, more surged forward to fill the gap.
“Over there! That’s an Atan Mage Knight!”
“Barsabe!”
“Yes, Captain! I’m moving to support!”
“Recruit, fall back! Focus on holding the demons!”
At Captain Bonita’s cry, Barsabe responded swiftly. She lowered her body and charged through the gaps between demons. Around the Atan wielding the black blade, the creatures were especially dense.
CLANG! CLANG!
“Ahahaha! The Imperial Palace Mage Knights aren’t so impressive after all?”
“Shut your mouth!”
ZZZZZING! ZING!
It wasn’t merely a clash between individuals. The demons surrounding the Atan moved as though entranced by the black blade.
The demons gripped the Guard’s limbs firmly, and the more she knocked them away, the more they multiplied.
“Go on! Ehehehe!”
SHHWAAAACK!
CLANG!
Just as the Atan thrust his blade toward the Guard’s heart, Barsabe flew in and blocked his path. Between her disheveled hair, her crimson eyes gleamed with murderous intent.
“How dare you speak of the Palace with such disrespect?”
She deflected the attack in one motion and drove her blade into his unguarded torso. Blood streamed down, hot against Barsabe’s hand.
The Atan cackled and gestured with his hand, and Barsabe understood what he wanted.
“Demons? You want demons to eat?”
SHHWAAAACK!
Barsabe withdrew her blade and severed his neck in the same motion. His severed head tumbled away and disappeared.
“Eat your fill then.”
“Th-thank you, Senior.”
“Recruit, fall back and provide support.”
“Yes, understood.”
CLANG! CLANG!
There was no time to catch my breath. Barsabe targeted the nearby Atan and charged forward again, drenched in the rain of blood that poured down.
“Captain! There are three Mage Knights among the Atan!”
“What about the Mage?”
“Still no sign of them!”
Crash!
Meanwhile, the Three Commanders’ Bonita surveyed the overall situation.
Eliminating the Atan themselves proceeded quite smoothly. Though Mage Knights occasionally appeared among them, they were no match for the systematically trained Imperial Guards.
The problem was the presence of a Mage and sealing the rift. If a Mage existed, the extent of their impact was uncertain, and after annihilating the Atan, the question remained of how to seal the rift.
Boom!
Then, a tremendous roar erupted from behind. I didn’t need to look to know. It was the tremor caused by Captain Jairot’s lightning.
Bonita immediately opened her magical power to its maximum to carry out his command.
Zing. Zing.
Crash!
Bonita leaped toward the sky with all her might, and the Imperial Guards simultaneously turned their heads to look upward.
An elegant figure with silver hair flowing. But they knew well. Just how destructive the force emanating from that slender body could be.
“Everyone, be careful!”
“If you lose focus, you die!”
“S-senior. What exactly-”
“Come this way! Over here!”
Whoooosh.
Bonita summoned a massive white spear-sword. Then, closing one eye as if making a clean cut, she surveyed the vast expanse of land. Next, she chose a single point and drove the spear-sword downward.
Boom! Crash! Bang!
The explosions killed monsters in droves, but that was merely a side effect. Chain explosions erupted across the ground, creating a massive chasm, and ultimately drawing a kind of boundary line.
Screech!
Shriek!
The monsters that had been charging forward blindly plummeted into the deep chasm. By my estimate, exactly five minutes. Once five minutes passed, the chasm would fill up and the monsters would overflow again.
Everything had to be resolved within that time. Otherwise, the monsters would flow past the northern territories and pour into the central regions.
Boom!
“Cough-!”
“Captain! Are you alright?”
“Commander Bonita!”
It was a tremendous force that split the earth. Bonita coughed up blood endlessly while gripping the ground, her body trembling. Though the soldiers cried out in concern, Bonita gave her orders firmly without showing her face.
“Return to your positions! Don’t lower your swords!”
Once her bleeding stopped, she would charge back in herself.
The soldiers hesitated before crying out in acknowledgment and scattered.
Left alone, Bonita stabbed at the monster remains with her short sword while glancing toward Jairot’s direction. How was he faring? It seemed there was a Mage.
Boom!
The moment the question crossed my mind, Jairot’s lightning flashed from all directions.
* * *
Berik’s massive magical sword was hot, blazing, and dripping with powerful energy. Where it cut and slashed, bright red flames remained as traces. On grass, in empty air, and even along Beno’s ribs.
Shhwaaack!
“Ugh!”
“Kekekek! Does it hurt? How much does it hurt? Huh?”
It wasn’t a simple wound. The pain carried heat within it, and Beno found himself involuntarily furrowing his brow and clutching his side.
Berik—that bastard seemed to have transformed into peak condition after drinking the potion. His punctured abdomen and bleeding remained, yet…
“Madman.”
“Now you get it? You picked the wrong opponent. I don’t let anyone who puts a hole in my belly walk away alive. You’re no exception. You bastard.”
Thwack!
Berik threw himself forward with all his might, swinging his blade at Beno. It was distinctly different from before. The power was heavier, the speed lighter, and his movements sharper.
Beno barely managed to parry Berik’s attacks, cold sweat pouring down his face. He felt the threshold of death. The terror that if even a momentary gap appeared—a flash, a single instant, or a moment of carelessness—that crimson blade would sever his throat.
“Do it again like you did before!”
“Kugh—!”
“Again like before! Look at me that way!”
Boom! Bang!
The sound of blades clashing became distinctly duller.
Beno’s eyes met Efdiram’s over Berik’s shoulder, which blazed with crimson energy. He corrected his retreating stance and pressed his body close.
As Berik turned his head at the sudden shift, Efdiram’s mana sphere was right before his eyes.
“Damn!”
Shhwaaack!
But Jairot’s lightning pierced through it.
In an instant, the surroundings flashed and his vision turned white. Jairot swung the lightning wide, targeting Efdiram’s vital points, and her protective barriers were shattered as fast as they formed.
Crack!
Clang! Clang!
“Ugh, damn it!”
“Efdiram!”
“Back off, you bastard! Your opponent is me!”
“Berik! Right side!”
The four of them continued their endless clash, attacking and protecting each other.
‘Efdiram is a mage. Kill her before she uses forbidden magic.’
‘Whether he’s a captain or whatever, his essence is still a Mage Knight, so his mana must be limited. I just need to endure.’
‘That fucking bastard! I’ll drill twice as many holes in his body!’
‘If I can just get Efdiram to safety, we have a chance!’
Each harboring their own purpose.
But it didn’t last long. The storm of attacks suddenly ceased.
Shhwaaack!
Swhack!
“…!”
“…!”
Jairot’s lightning pierced through Efdiram’s heart, and Berik’s mana blade pierced through Beno’s abdomen.
The four of them froze in place, breathing heavily. A tension lingered as if it had ended yet remained unfinished. What broke that silence was Efdiram’s groan.
“…Damn it.”
“Cough!”
And Beno coughed up blood.
As the two collapsed, losing their strength, Jairot and Berik simultaneously drew their blades. Dark crimson blood gushed endlessly from the pierced wound.
Whoosh!
When the faintly trembling fingertips finally stilled completely, Berik flopped backward onto the ground.
“Haa, haa, this is damn exhausting.”
“….”
“Old man. Why did you take so long? My abdomen’s been pierced. I can’t do the mission or anything now. Damn it, I can’t move until I’ve consumed five cattle.”
Jairot stared at the bloodstains smeared on his collar and the shattered remnants of Berik’s black blade scattered far away. That’s settled. At least this part is.
“You got hurt because you neglected your training. Who are you blaming?”
“Ah, I don’t know! I don’t know!”
“But how did you even use a mage sword?”
“What do you mean. The old man does it, that buck-toothed guy does it, everyone does it. Is there a law saying only I can’t? Ah, bring Ian here! Tell him to pump some power into me.”
“The potion seemed to have a good effect.”
“Don’t say that in front of that crazy Akorelra. She gets full of herself and acts like a fool. Ugh.”
Unlike the other Atan, the corpses of Efdiram and Beno had to be secured. Everyone needed to see what fate befell the group that had threatened Bariel. Moreover, the Atan Clan in the future would need to know as well.
“Captain! We’ve annihilated all the Atan!”
“We’re searching now, but the demons make it difficult!”
“The number of demons seems to be increasing!”
“There are no surviving Atan on this side!”
“None here either!”
Shouts announcing the end of battle echoed from all directions.
Jairot gazed quietly northward, then removed his blood-stained robe. What’s gotten into the old man? Berik’s eyes narrowed, but Jairot paid no mind and removed his uniform coat as well.
Once dressed in only a light shirt, he rolled up his sleeves and nodded.
“Berik. Carry those two corpses.”
“Me?”
“Then should I do it?”
“Call Kyu back. Or, before that, the old man could do it too. He’s in better shape than me!”
Jairot walked toward the still-pouring stream of demons, grinning widely.
“I’m busy.”
“…What are you going to do?”
“Placing a bowl in front of a broken faucet is a foolish response. If it’s broken, you fix it and seal it. Isn’t that right?”
“That’s true, but—”
“Captain Bonita!”
When Jairot called out in a resonant voice, she lifted her head. Drenched in sweat, her complexion was deathly pale.
“Yes, Captain Jairot!”
“I’m going to investigate the fissure. You command the guards well and hold this position.”
“You’re going yourself, Captain?”
“Yes. I’ll go and see for myself.”
The Imperial Guards hesitated, turning to look at Jairat. His clothes had grown lighter at some point—he was prepared to enter.
Barsabe tore off the demon beast’s head as she cried out.
“Captain, you cannot! It’s a rift! A passage leading to the abyss! It’s far too dangerous! Wait until Count Ian arrives. He will be here soon!”
“Which do you think will happen first?”
Bonita’s pit filling completely, or Ian Hielo’s arrival. Even if Ian Hielo arrived first, there was no certainty he could offer a solution.
“Do not worry. I will return safely.”
Yet why had he entrusted command to Captain Bonita? The words that nearly escaped her lips, Barsabe bit down on her lower lip and swallowed them back. Because she sensed an unusual resolve in Jairat, different from his usual demeanor.
“Captain Jairat. I should go instead.”
“No.”
As Bonita spoke, Jairat smiled and gestured.
Thunder roared across the barren sky. A desolate wind swept through, scattering the stench of demon beast blood far and wide. Then from Jairat’s fingertips, a lightning-shaped mage sword rose anew. A mage sword that shone more brilliantly than ever before.
“Each of us has duties befitting our station. Bonita, your time is long. And precious. Your duty is to protect that time and lead the Imperial Guards. Fulfill your responsibility. I will fulfill mine.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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